Rice - World of Words

Rice — The foundation of life

Rice is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa (Asian rice) or less commonly Oryza glaberrima (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera Zizania and Porteresia, both wild and domesticated, although the term may also be used for primitive or uncultivated varieties of Oryza.

Honor rice, in all its varieties, as a source and symbol of sustenance.

— Stacie Stukin

The Origin of Rice

Rice has been cultivated in China since ancient times and was introduced to India before the time of the Greeks. Chinese records of rice cultivation go back 4,000 years. In classical Chinese the words for agriculture and for rice culture are synonymous, indicating that rice was already the staple crop at the time the language was taking form.

Based on archaeological and linguistic evidence, is that rice was first domesticated in the Yangtze River basin in China.

Today, the majority of all rice produced comes from China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Korea and Japan. Asian farmers still account for 87% of the world's total rice production. Because so much rice is produced in Bangladesh, it is also the staple food of the country.

Seeing the world through a grain of rice by The New York Times Style Magazine

Rice that tastes like ‘first love’

It started in 2015 with that most humble Asian staple: Rice.

Melisa Lim, Chan Zi Xiang, Chia Yong Ling and Lilian Chen – project coordinators for a non-profit organisation – were managing the building of infrastructure in rural East Malaysia when they chanced upon the best rice they had ever tasted on a field trip to Sarawak’s Long Semadoh Valley.

The rice turned out to be an heirloom variety grown by the indigenous Lun Bawang community in the Lawas highlands. Chen compared the sensation of eating the rice to “first love”, while Lim described the fragrance, taste and texture of the grains as “unforgettable”.

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In our recent digital initiative — World of Words, we have carefully selected a handful of beautiful creation of God that means something to us. We used them as our new website imagery as part of the celebration of life we tend to miss out in our hectic daily lives. We hope you will take a moment to pause, breathe and admire these wonderful things around us.

References:

Seeing the World Through a Grain of Rice by The New York Times Lifestyle Magazine
Symbol and Meaning in Southeast Asian Village Tradition by UCLA (Eastern Studies)
Rice that tastes like first love by CNA Luxury
History of rice cultivation by Wikipedia